Josquin des Prez’ Impact on the Renaissance Era Josquin des Prez held vast knowledge about composing complex polyphonic melodies which lead him to become a very large influence of music during the Renaissance era. Since his music had been influenced by the famous Dutch composer Johannes Ockeghen, Joaquin des Prez’ early sacred music demonstrated contrapuntal complexity which was not seen in the works of other influential Renaissance composers such as Pierre de La Rue at this time. From Josquin’s understanding of notation, he then simplified his compositions into short recognizable phrases and continuously passed these phrases from one voice to another using his knowledge of the contrapuntal technique. Among his work during the Renaissance …show more content…
This is when the singers echo each other in a way similar to a round. Josquin was also very famous for his use of counterpoint technique during the Renaissance era. Counterpoint is the connection of melodies in a phrase. The singers each have an independent melody but when sung together it creates a harmony. Johannes Ockeghen was a famous composer and musician throughout Europe, made famous by his expressive music and influential technical skills. Joaquin des Prez was influenced by Ockeghen’s compositions due to his talent with polyphony in music which in turn also influenced the Netherlands who often portray polyphony techniques in their Renaissance era music. Josquin’s most notable works would be his motets and masses, the text would typically be in Latin which was commonly found in music written for Mass. Because of the rise of polyphony in the church, Josquin included this technique with pre-existing music, later referred to as his cantus firmus compositions, an example of this is “Missa Pange Linqua”. His work with the church inspired a wide range of music Joaquin composed such as his lighter “frottola”, french chansons, and motet-chanson which featured dark textures such as in "Deploration on the death of Ockeghem/Nimphes des